3140 S. Martin Luther King Jr. BoulevardAn impromptu trip to Lansing means an impromptu trip for dinner.
A co-worker and I decided at the last minute we needed to go to Lansing to get something. Our bosses approved, so we hit the road just before 4:00. Our task was wrapped up by 5:45 and we were heading back to Grand Rapids. My co-worker noticed I missed the on ramp to I-496 and asked where I was going. I told him I was going to pick up some chicken. He didn’t seem to mind.
We drove from downtown to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. As we passed Popeyes, C.W. thought I was going to pull in. I told him I had a better idea and went just a little bit further up the road to a local, well know, and very popular you buy, we fry place.
Fresh Fish and Fry is on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard just to the north of Holmes Road on the southwest side of Lansing. The joint is a small building with little parking in a heavily commercialized area of MLK Jr. Boulevard that has both a Popeyes and a KFC.
Surprisingly, even to me, this isn’t my first visit to Fresh Fish and Fry. When I was looking up their website, I saw a link to a blog post I wrote in 2009 when we lived in Lansing. I remember eating at a couple of fish fry places when we lived there, but this one didn’t ring a bell when I pulled in. The pictures confirm though, that it’s the same place.
Fresh Fish and Fry is a fish place first. They have cases of fresh fish that you can buy and have take home or have fried up for you right in the store.
Those cases take up most of the store. There’s just enough room for a pop cooler and a very small waiting area with two pub type tables and a couple of metal chairs to wait in if you do like we did and don’t call ahead.
While the small shop is mainly a fish place, they are very well known for their chicken. They’ve had the likes of Snoop Dogg and Waka Flocka Flame rave about the place when they’ve been in town for Common Ground. It’s not hard to figure out what makes this chicken so unique. They’ve put a big advertisement for it on their pole sign instead of the name of their business.
Crack Chicken. There are a few places in Lansing that serve this kind of chicken….chicken so good, it’s addictive, but Fresh Fish and Fry actually trademarked the term “Crack Chicken” after a customer/writer coined the term.
So, what is crack chicken. It’s whole fried chicken wings topped with a special seasoning once it comes out of the fryer. No one will give up their recipes, but it’s not hard to figure out there’s sugar, salt, garlic, and lemon pepper among other things that aren’t as easily identifiable.
My co-worker had never heard the term “Crack chicken” before and didn’t know what it was. I told him just to trust me and get some wings.
I ordered first and got the 5 Wings Dinner which comes with coleslaw, fries, and bread. The cost was a little over seven bucks because I didn’t add on a drink, but I really wouldn’t suggest eating these wings without something to drink. We were taking ours to-go so I knew I’d be able to grab something when I was finally able to sit down and eat them.
My co-worker ordered the Ocean Perch dinner and three wings. He really likes perch, but had to try the wings. He said the perch was alright, but really liked the wings. He actually said he should know better than ordering fish at a chicken place, but I told him it actually was a fish place which blew his theory out of the water.
I tackled a few fries in the car, but for the most part, I had to wait until we got back to Grand Rapids before eating. The fries came out to me super hot and dusted with the “Crack” seasoning. They were skin on fries that were pretty crispy. The seasoning just dominates your taste buds and while it’s good, it can be too much in large quantities. I tried to dust some of the bigger clumps off just so I didn’t get tired of it before I got to the chicken.
I couldn’t wait to get into the wings and as soon as I sat down at my desk, I started ripping wings apart. The chicken is large, meaty, juicy, and very crispy. The seasoning on the chicken wasn’t as heavy as it was on the fries, so the flavor was a little more subtle mixing the sweetness of the sugar with the juiciness of the chicken created a perfect flow that didn’t make the seasoning overpowering.
Fresh Fish and Fry is a pretty unexpected surprise if you didn’t go looking for it like we did. In my blog post eight years ago, I didn’t even use the term “crack” chicken because I had never heard the term before. When I stopped in, I did so because I was just looking for wings. I wasn’t looking for anything special like I was this time. I still agree with my past self. The wings were delicious. Present me says this is a place you should try to get to if you’re in Lansing. It’s not that far from downtown and it’s worth the ten minute drive to get something that originated in the Lansing area and is slowing catching on at similar type of places throughout the state.
